This invention relates to the preparation of large mailings and the like. More particularly it relates to systems and apparatus for the preparation of documents and the assembly of multiple mailpieces including such documents.
The term xe2x80x9cmailpiecesxe2x80x9d as used herein means items intended to be delivered by a postal service or private courier service. Typically preparation of mailpieces includes, but is not limited to, printing or otherwise providing documents including variable information pertaining to addressees of the mailpieces and the assembly of such documents with other elements of the mailpiece. The term xe2x80x9cassemblyxe2x80x9d as used herein means the execution of actions to incorporate the documents into mailpieces. Typically, such actions can include: accumulating documents with other materials such as preprinted inserts, folding and inserting the resulting accumulations into envelopes, printing addresses and other information on the outside of the envelopes, and franking the mailpiece with an appropriate postage amount.
Inserter systems for the preparation of mailpieces are well known. Such systems receive documents which have been preprinted, typically by a data processing system, accumulate documents associated with particular mailpieces, add inserts to the accumulation, and insert the accumulation into an envelope. Known inserter systems can also print the mailpiece envelope with an address as well as other information and can frank the mailpiece with a postal indicia for the appropriate amount of postage. Such systems operate at high speeds, on the order of thousands of mailpieces per hour, and with low error rates, and are essential for production of modern mass mailings.
While systems such as those described above have proven highly successful, certain disadvantages remain. Modem inserter systems operate at extremely high processing rates which require that documents, inserts and envelopes all be moved and handled at high speeds. In such systems it is difficult to identify mailpieces which require special handling. In particular it has proven difficult to intermix qualified and non-qualified mail in a single mailing job. (xe2x80x9cQualifiedxe2x80x9d mail is mail which qualifies for special discounted postal rates because it has been pre-sorted and processed in accordance with strict postal service requirements.) It is desirable to intermix qualified and non-qualified mail pieces since, for example, constraints in the mail generation software may make it necessary or desirable to merge two mailing lists where one list is qualified and the other is not. However it is critical that such a mailing not be delivered to the Postal Service with qualified and non-qualified mail intermixed since the Postal Service will reject such mail.
Another, related problem is the occasional need to make modifications to the material printed on particular mailpieces within a job. For example a xe2x80x9cPostnetxe2x80x9d barcode should not be printed on a non-qualified mail piece; or a user may find that certain messages or slogans are not well received in certain cities and/or states. Heretofore mail for such places would have to be handled as a special job. Such a special job would of course be a source of delay, and would also increase the likelyhood of misprocessed mailpieces.
Thus it is an object of the subject invention to provide a system and method for the preparation and assembly of mailpieces which has increased flexibility for handling of intermixed mailpieces and of mailpieces which require modification of what is to be printed on the mailpiece envelope.
The above object is achieved and the disadvantages of the prior art are overcome in accordance with the subject invention by means of a method and apparatus for method for processing of a mailing by a mail preparation system, where an inserter system or the like assembles said mailpieces, the inserter system including a programmable controller programmed to control assembly of the mailpieces in accordance with information included in a mailpiece record, such assembly including causing at least one print field to be printed on an envelope for said mailpiece. The system stores a predetermined Boolean combination of predetermined tests of at least one field of the mailpiece records. The programmable controller controls the inserter system to assemble said mailpieces in accordance with the information in the mailpiece record and, for each of the mailpieces, prior to printing the print field, determines if said Boolean combination is satisfied; and if it is not satisfied, diverts the mailpiece.
In accordance with one aspect of the subject invention, a plurality of said fields of said mailpiece records are tested.
In accordance with another aspect of the subject invention, printing of said print field is modified if said Boolean combination is not satisfied.
In accordance with another aspect of the subject invention, said print field is suppressed if said Boolean combination is not satisfied.
In accordance with another aspect of the subject invention, a predetermined string of alphanumeric characters is appended to said print field if said Boolean combination is not satisfied.
In accordance with another aspect of the subject invention, the diverted mailpiece is processed as non-qualified mail.
In accordance with another aspect of the subject invention, the print field includes a barcode representation of address information.
In accordance with still another aspect of the subject invention an inserter system or the like assembles said mailpieces, the inserter system including a programmable controller programmed to control assembly of the mailpieces in accordance with information included in a mailpiece record, such assembly including causing at least one print field to be printed on an envelope for said mailpiece. The system stores a predetermined Boolean combination of predetermined tests of a plurality of fields of the mailpiece records. The programmable controller controls the inserter system to assemble said mailpieces in accordance with the information in the mailpiece record and, for each of the mailpieces, prior to printing the print field, determines if the Boolean combination is satisfied; and if it is not satisfied, modifies further processing of the mailpiece.
In accordance with another aspect of the subject invention, processing of the mailpiece is modified by modifying the print field.
In accordance with another aspect of the subject invention, processing of the mailpiece is modified by suppressing the print field.
In accordance with another aspect of the subject invention, processing of the mailpiece is modified by appending a predetermined string of alphanumeric characters to the print field.
Other objects and advantages of the subject invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from consideration of the detailed description set forth below and the attached drawings.